Ellacharmed's world fixes are great, but hers for Isla Paradiso does not go far enough (for most of us). The world's major issues extend to some residential lots that are hopelessly broken and cause the game much stress, to the point of it being unplayable for most of us, unless or until those lots are fixed up or bulldozed.

The EP itself is fine. The content can be used in other worlds, it's not a requirement that gameplay be restricted to Isla Paradiso. Those who still, all these years later, insist that the EP is unusable are either not paying attention, they are quoting lines they have repeatedly learned from those who never bothered to find out why the included design-flawed world behaves the way it does, or they do not/at the time did not have a system strong enough to run it. The pack, not counting the flawed world, runs about third behind Pets and Seasons for stress on the system but still brings much enjoyment to many of us who have found ways to make it work.

So there is a way to make Isla Paradiso work? I did not know that, I have tried to play there and the most I got was one day, the shortest was upon choosing a home, then it would freeze and not unfreeze

I adore IP and got mine to work following @ciane info and instructions as @igazor has linked above. I am currently redesigning the world to fit how I want to play and enjoying every minute but keep stopping to play enjoying all those lovely animations this world has to offer

One of the things we can see is that the recent release of the TS4 Island Living expansion has rekindled a lot of interest in TS3's Island Paradise. It really is a great EP for TS3, it's just a shame about the world. We have to assume this one was rushed to market and the world would have been fixed up better for us if there had been time in the game's development cycle to send it back for more work. But at least we can see what they tried to do and take things from there, for those so inclined. Shaka bra, and all that!

The pearl clutchers ( most of whom don't even play TS3 ) are often waffling on about how terrible and unplayable IP is. It isn't.
The world requires some TLC to fix it ( I also always remove the resorts from my game as well ) but it is perfectly playable after you've performed most of the fixes.

You can then save the game and use your fixed save to begin any new games so you don't have to continually repeat the steps.

1. There are things wrong that can only be fixed by someone who can take it into Create a World to fix issues with the way the world was put together.
2. There are things wrong with how the houses were built. They are things anyone can fix for themselves if they want to.

The replacement world linked above by EllaCharmed fixes the world issues. It replaces the world file in you Programs(x86) folder. If you follow the link provided above you'll find full info on what it has fixed there.

The save file made by ciane fixes the problems with the houses and other things anyone with the game and the world can fix. But - I believe it was based on the original world file and will contain all the issues that were fixed by EllaCharmed. To get the fixed to the world itself you will need to start a new save after the world has been placed into your game.

The pearl clutchers ( most of whom don't even play TS3 ) are often waffling on about how terrible and unplayable IP is. It isn't.
The world requires some TLC to fix it ( I also always remove the resorts from my game as well ) but it is perfectly playable after you've performed most of the fixes.

You can then save the game and use your fixed save to begin any new games so you don't have to continually repeat the steps.

I think I met Polly Pearl Clutcher vacationing in Isla Paradiso once. She couldn't fool me though, I knew it was really Mrs. Crumplebottom in disguise under that hat with the tropical fruit salad on it. I could feel her eyes on me every time I fixed one of the badly flawed residential lots (this was way before ciane produced her brilliant world save for others to use) and could tell she was reaching for her purse with a desire to bash me over the head with it yet again.

hahahahaha awesome your post reminds me of the very first time I saw Mrs Crumplebottom in the S2 series and i was so enamoured by her antics I would send my sims anywhere/everywhere to do anything considered remotely naughty so she would show up and whack sims with that handbag as I found it so hilarious

All of the fixes saved that world for me. It's my favorite one and favorite expansion packs. Until I found the fix threads, I just used the stuff from the pack and played Sunlit Tides instead. I'm so glad and thankful that they took the time to fix it, it definitely needed saving!

I’ve been debating whether or not to get the island paradise sims 3 pack but people keep telling me there are to many glitches in it? Is that still true today?

The answer is "Yes, it has way too many glitches- and it can break (some) computers.". If you want to get it, you will have to go in and do a pile of fixes to get it running smoothly, and you may still encounter (sometimes serious) issues. The game was never fixed by the company.

Is it worth $5 (which is what you can get it for on Steam when it's on sale, which is often)?... That depends. You will have to do the fixes (which you will have to do- see all of the above suggestions, which is proof), and you may need to use mods (which are not affiliated with EA/Maxis), and even if you have (what some people say is) a "great" computer you may still have serious issues (you can find threads, though you shouldn't have to do so much research just to play a game, where you will see people warning others not to play on high spec computers- because it makes the game worse).

You can find many helpful simmers, but EA/Maxis does not have support for TS3 anymore, and they are not fixing the game, and so you are purchasing a known defunct product. Again, if it's 'worth it', or not, to buy the game (even when it's only 5$)... That depends, because it has been known to wreck some people's computers (which costs a heck of a lot more than 5$).

I hope my edit, although (probably) not what you want to read, helps with more clarity. You will find many people saying the game is worth it, and you will see many who have had their computers wrecked. It's important to have all of the information in order to help you decide. Be careful about fanboys/girls giving advise. Remember they love the game, and see potential in it, but they often won't tell you about the real problems that can (and do) happen.

Also, EA/Maxis will tell you (on the purchase page) what the "minimum specs" are (but they are not clear to potential buyers that those min specs means that you will not have the features that others players will have, and some of those 'features' are simple things- like graphics which look sort-of-good). There is nowhere that they state what the "recommended specs" are (to avoid getting in trouble when players meet those specs and still have issues).

For me, I generally stay away from Isla Paradiso because I love the elements. In sims 3, you can't travel to different worlds without planning a vacation or using mods.(unless your sim decides to move to a different world) In sims 4, you can live in Sulani and still visit the other worlds and vice versa.

EX: the couple in my avi currently resides in Del Sol Valley- hubby is an actor- and they visited Sulani for their 'honeymoon'.

I rarely play IP unless I go in and fix it up. I can't do without the items that come with it though. I love building resorts in the other worlds. I use CAW worlds and use a lot of buildings and buy items that came with IP.

Sunlit Tides is where my sims reside if I want the island feel. I am not really into diving spots, but I love surfing and boating!

Recently I did serious attempt to make that world playable. Deleted all the lots that needed to be, used the world fix and used the recommended Nraas mods etc. The world was still an unplayable, broken, buggy mess and after rolling back to my original post fix save three times I gave up.

The fixes did reduce the lag but it still lagged. I ran Overwatch at least 2 or 3 times a Sim day to find stuck and missing Sims to try and elevate the lag (this is what I call my emergency fix when things start going wrong running Overwatch normally fixes it). Without fail there was always somebody stuck or missing. As soon as Sims had to travel from the main island to one of the smaller islands there would be lag with the boat. I know I saw somebody recommending to turn those boats off but I didn't see how the Sims would travel between the big and small islands that would cause more issues so I left that running.

The game crashed all the time. At first I thought it was this and then it was that then I realized no it is the world itself. The last straw was when I loaded the save and found my Sim now one with the stadium and unplayable. I used Nraas to reset her, this caused Nraas error trap to freak out and the game crashed, save deleted.

I hated the houseboats (not played in this world but another IP type world). To start off I wasn't so keen on the rocking effects. I generally found them annoying and clunky to maneuver (if you have pets think horses and large dogs). I also got it into my head to have a Sim take her boat out to a dive spot and then from there she could get out and dive and swim. It turns out you can't do anything with these boats except move them from port to port.

I haven't gotten the opportunity to play the lifeguard career properly as it wasn't really working well in other neighbourhoods, as well as the diving skill. I'm hoping to retry them when I'm in a neighbourhood that isn't landlocked again.

This is an overstuffed badly implemented stuff pack. I always wished they had included a basic "bonus" beach world in WA where you could do some beach and water activities.

If you really want it and can get it cheap like I was able to, do it. Some of the smaller feature are usable in other towns add to the game play, if you want a Sim that likes that sort of stuff.

Buy the pack. This is my favorite pack. True, the world is glitched and requires some work to make it playable, but it has great gameplay. I love the scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, and mermaids. The houseboats are great and you can use everything in any world except for the dive spots, but you can make your own in worlds with deep water. Many world builders have added dive lots to their custom worlds, so you don’t have to play in Isla Paradiso if you choose not to use the fixed versions.

IP is a little glitchy, I didn't find anything that stopped me from playing it. My sim dived several times without problems, I wanted him to get all the new fish. He fought the sharks several times and won. I did delete some of the ports and houseboats that were said to cause lag.

honestly by the end of sims 3's life the custom worlds were better than the official worlds, i think the devs just gave up and slapped any old thing together without any quality control or testing whatsoever they just wanted to be done. custom world maps however are always made with love & passion they're almost always better than anything the devs made (by the end). imo

I have to join in the chorus of praising NRAAS for fixing most if not all of my issues in IP and the world itself is beautiful and by far the prettiest of Maxis worlds that I own (there are a few on the store I still don't have.) I love scuba diving, resorts, houseboats, regular boats, water skiing, and many other things about the expansion. Mermaids are kinda lame if you have an aversion to cheating in any way - their life span is the same as a human's and they don't get anything that humans or other life states can't earn (diving) or buy with lifetime reward points (steel lungs) and whether or not you buy the lifetime reward "permanent mermaid" they suffer greatly from dehydration any time it's warm outside, they're near a campfire or bonfire or flamefruit, etc. but that's just my opinion about the mermaids. It is my second most favorite expansion I think, though, and my absolute favorite Maxis world out of all of the expansions.

Also, contrary to other players experience on this thread, I can do everything from my houseboat. I can fish, I can swim from it, I can snorkel from it and I can and have parked it directly over dive spots. You can even store a speedboat on your houseboat. Their only limitation is number of levels and actual size. If you're a player that likes huge humongous houses with lots of levels then you might find them a bit confining, as you are limited in the number of floors you can have (one basement level and three (I think) above deck levels. But even with a family of 5 sims and a dog and only 2 above deck levels and one basement I had plenty of room, including a rooftop garden and a full rec room in the basement complete with a pool table, a large bar area, a TV/game area, a guest room and an alchemy room. To avoid the rocking boat thing I just keep my camera zoomed in on my sims and my walls all the way up or in cutaway mode

I have to join in the chorus of praising NRAAS for fixing most if not all of my issues in IP and the world itself is beautiful and by far the prettiest of Maxis worlds that I own (there are a few on the store I still don't have.) I love scuba diving, resorts, houseboats, regular boats, water skiing, and many other things about the expansion. Mermaids are kinda lame if you have an aversion to cheating in any way - their life span is the same as a human's and they don't get anything that humans or other life states can't earn (diving) or buy with lifetime reward points (steel lungs) and whether or not you buy the lifetime reward "permanent mermaid" they suffer greatly from dehydration any time it's warm outside, they're near a campfire or bonfire or flamefruit, etc. but that's just my opinion about the mermaids. It is my second most favorite expansion I think, though, and my absolute favorite Maxis world out of all of the expansions.

Also, contrary to other players experience on this thread, I can do everything from my houseboat. I can fish, I can swim from it, I can snorkel from it and I can and have parked it directly over dive spots. You can even store a speedboat on your houseboat. Their only limitation is number of levels and actual size. If you're a player that likes huge humongous houses with lots of levels then you might find them a bit confining, as you are limited in the number of floors you can have (one basement level and three (I think) above deck levels. But even with a family of 5 sims and a dog and only 2 above deck levels and one basement I had plenty of room, including a rooftop garden and a full rec room in the basement complete with a pool table, a large bar area, a TV/game area, a guest room and an alchemy room. To avoid the rocking boat thing I just keep my camera zoomed in on my sims and my walls all the way up or in cutaway mode

That's my experience too (=the bolded text).

And you can move the houseboat to any place you like on the water parts of the map, not just the ports.